


Wilted Petals

by PhonePastry



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Will add more tags as chapters progress, breakdowns, mostly just a self indulgent coping fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-08-10 02:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20128201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhonePastry/pseuds/PhonePastry
Summary: Nat Vancey wakes up one morning in the Habitat to find Flower Kid curled up in a rather dishelved room in a rather dishelved state.





	1. Chapter 1

Nat Vancey visited Flower Kid each morning ever since they took residence at the habitat. Every morning, she'd peek through the door and find them staring out their window, facing away from her as the sunlight hit them straight in the face. Every morning she'd wince a little, and every morning they would turn to her and wave.

Well, almost every morning.

Some days, when it was raining and the sun wouldn't filter through their shut window, she would wake to see them still curled up in their bed, their covers always pulled far over their head. Then she'd wake them up herself. Some days, when she hadn't seen them rushing past her to get to their room before bedtime, she'd find them sleeping like a rock till the afternoon. They were different on those days, a little skittish and less sunny than usual.

Yes, they were like a sunflower, almost. At least, that's what everyone seemingly decided at once, and now that's used just as interchangeably as their many other nicknames.

Today, however...

It was like they had wilted.

Nat Vancey woke up this morning to find her flowery friend in a state she'd never really seen before. They were curled up in the corner, hands thrown over their face as they shied away from the mess in front of them. Their room was a wreck. The bed was lopsided, the comforter crumpled near the door. The painting they received from Dallas was hung by a corner, although luckily unharmed. And their bouquet.... The bouquet they arrived with, home to a great many tools, had seemingly been thrown against the wall, the items splayed across the room in various states. The only item that seemed truly untouched by... whatever happened here was the flowerbox on the window, although it's weird lip flower looked a little dehydrated.

Nat was frozen in place for longer than she'd like to admit, simply staring as Flower Kid shook. Their hands gripped their messy bangs tightly, pulling them to obscure both their eyes instead of just one. Their hair was a frizzy, tangled mess, as if they'd been pulling through and tugging on it for hours. Nat treaded carefully as she crept into the room.

"Hey, Flower Kid...? What's wrong?" She asked, kneeling down in front of them after brushing aside some wilted petals scattered across the floor. Her friend said nothing, just letting out a shaky sigh stuttered with a hiccup, and it took her a second to remember that Flower Kid just... did not talk. She furrows her brows, determined to not just give up.

"Hey! Can you look at me?"

A nod.

"Do you need help?"

Another nod.

"Are you sick?"

They shrug.

"Did you miss curfew again?"

They shake their head.

Nat pulls back for a moment and sighs as she tries to think of what to ask next. Flower kid brushes their bangs out of their eye, leaving one covered as usual, and looks up at her. Their eye, though dark as ever, was puffy and red from crying. A dry flower petal falls from under their bangs.

Nat perks up with an idea.

"Well, why don't we get someone else to help while we try to clean this up?"

Flower kid glanced up at her and tilted their head. "I dunno what all I can do to help, but I'm sure the others can think of something. It's the least we can do anyway, after all you've done...."

Flower Kid doesn't respond immediately. They mull it over, curled up into themself. But as they look back to Nat, and as they nod their head, she thinks she sees the slightest whisper of a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a small multichapter fic about Flower Kid getting some well deserved love from the people they've helped. Hopefully this'll be a nice feel-good fic :-]


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dallas checks in.

Dallas Smuth was rather "new" to attempting to help others. He'd spent so much time wrapped up in his own little bubble, crafting a story in his head as the protagonist of this world. He was holed up in his own little world for years, and even though the walls had begun to crumble, he had stayed stubbornly stuck in his ways.

  


But since Flower Kid had "talked" some sense into him, he'd found himself becoming much more... aware of his surroundings. He was becoming better at listening to others, and in return, he found people listening back for once! He also, just like the rest of the residents, had become rather fond of the Habitat's flower friend. So when he was the first to check in on the room after he watch Nat wander in and not come out, she wasn't surprised.

  


"Heyy, Sunflower, Nat. What happened here-??" He asked, raking his eyes over the scene. It seemed they were in the middle of cleaning up Flower Kid's disheveled room, with Nat making more headway than their quiet friend. She sighed as she put away the boxing glove and camera in the bouquet before turning to Dallas.

  


"Flower Kid's... had a bad night."

  


She glanced to their friend, who gave a slow nod, making another withered petal drop to the floor. Dallas cocks an eyebrow.

  


"Anythin I can do to help?" Dallas asks.

  


Nat shrugs. "You can help clean up, but Flower may have somethin else they want." She turns back to the room, hopping over to straighten the painting.

  


Dallas turns back to Flower Kid and gives them a sympathetic smile.

  


"You heard the little lady," he says, patting their head. "Anything in mind, Flower Child?" 

  


They take a moment to think, and nod. They hesitate, before signing something.

  


"Hm... hairbrush...? Brush your hair?" He asked. Flower smiled.

  


"Oh! Wait a second, then," Nat called as she made her way to the closet.

  


Each resident had a few amenities given to them when they first joined the Habitat to keep up some personal hygiene. Some towels, shampoo and conditioner, floss, a toothbrush (though no one's been able to find theirs in forever), some toothpaste... and a hairbrush. She finds their bag and pulls out the seemingly unused brush. She furrowed her brows while looking at it, before shrugging and running it over to Dallas.

  


"Alright, we've got the goods, Flower Power. Pop a squat!"

  


Dallas sits down against the wall while Flower Kid plops down in front of him. "Hold still," he says, taking a chunk of hair and gently working through the knots at the bottom. Flower Kid was taking it surprisingly well, sort of zoning out and looking tiredly content as they try their best not to fidget, only wincing occasionally when Dallas has to work through a knot. Flower Kid's hair was naturally very straight and smooth, so as the tangles unfurled, the brush pulled through easily.

  


A comfortable silence fills the air...

  


"OI!!"

  


And is swiftly shattered.

  


Flower slammed their hands over their ears with a sigh as Mirphy marched in, with the other two watching her duck under the doorframe to pop on in. A usually welcome guest, but surely a noisy one.

  


"Heyy, Mirphy!" Dallas called, grinning up at her as he continued to brush through Flower Kid's hair. He'd recently managed to apologize to her and form something akin to a budding friendship. She chuckled at him before waving to Flower. They gave a tired wave in response, trying to keep their hands off their ears to stay polite. Mirphy and Dallas fired off into a conversation, though Flower couldn't manage to keep up with it. As noise filled the room, rambunctious and rowdy...

  


Sunflower began to cry.

  


It was slow at first. Small pricks of tears began to bead in their eye, making it sting. They tried so hard to suppress it, to think of the warmth of the sun, of fields of flowers blooming brightly, of the happy faces of everyone they'd cheered up.

  


But the noise continued to pile. The sound grew cacophonous, overwhelming Flower's quaking resolve. Then, unable to fend it off, they began to sob.

  


They buried their face in their hands, pulling away from Dallas and curling up away from the noise. It was too much, too loud, too painful, and they weren't ready for this yet. The noise came to a slow halt as everyone looked over to them.

  


"Oh no, Flower, don't...," Nat began, making her way over to try and comfort them. They continued to silence themselves as they curled up further. Mirphy pulled her lips tightly closed, guilt wracking her face.

  


"Oh gosh, did I...?" She asked, only to be met with Flower Kid beginning to try once more to sign.

  


The room fell silent as their words fell on deaf eyes. Frustrated, fed up with their inability to communicate with anyone, Sunflower resorted to their old comforts.

  


They sighed, they turned away, and pulled their comforter over their head.

  


Nat Vancey never considered herself a crybaby or a difficult child, and Flower Kid wasn't that either. But the room was unprepared for helping them through this. So, assuring the group she'll be right back, and advising them to give Sunflower their space...

  


Nat made her way downstairs.

  


There were only two dads in the Habitat and Nat sure as hell wasn't about to ask Jimothan for help on this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that this took so long to get together. I'm already working on the final chapter (where things'll get much kinder), so hopefully it can all wrap up quickly. I've got more ideas I wanna work on!!  
Take care everyone.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a small multichapter fic about Flower Kid getting some well deserved love from the people they've helped. Hopefully this'll be a nice feel-good fic :-]


End file.
